André-Nicolas Levasseur (also known as Auguste Levasseur) was a 19th-century French writer and diplomat known in the United States for accompanying the

Marquis de La Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

during his last trip to the Americas and in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and Mexico for his involvement in

French imperialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...

Lafayette's secretary

Levasseur is better known in the English-speaking world as the personal secretary of

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

, during his last visit to the United States, from July 1824 to September 1825. In 1829, he published his travel's notes and memoirs in two volumes with the title of
Lafayette en Amérique, en 1824 et 1825 ou Journal d'un voyage aux États-Unis
'. That same year, one translation appeared in German and two in English (New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

). A fourth translation, this time in Dutch, was published in 1831. Since then, Levasseur's work has been an important source of information to historians. It continues to be cited as an important

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

; particularly as an account's witness of the events surrounding Lafayette's celebrated visit.

French diplomat to Haiti and Mexico

After gaining prominence through the publication of Lafayette's memories (or travel log) Levasseur became active in the French international arena. In 1838 he was appointed as consul to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

with the tasks of ensuring the

indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

payment that President

Jean-Pierre Boyer Jean-Pierre Boyer (15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annex ...

had agreed in 1825 and of bringing the young Black Republic closer to a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...

with France. In 1843, while Haiti struggled between new reform liberal forces and the

independence movement Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in the

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

, Levasseur involved himself in the internal politics by suggesting to Dominican leaders the idea of becoming a protectorate of France. France would supply money, arms and protection with the condition of giving up

Samaná Bay Samaná Bay is a bay in the eastern Dominican Republic. The Yuna River flows into Samaná Bay, and it is located south of the town of Samaná and the Samaná Peninsula. Wildlife Among its features are protected islands that serve as nesting site ...

and allowing France to appoint a governor. This plan did not work, and Levasseur is seen today as an example of unwelcome imperial intervention in the

postcolonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

world for Haitian and Dominican authors alike. Not long after failing as a diplomat in Haiti, Levasseur was appointed again to another French imperial intervention in the Americas: the case of Mexico.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Works by Auguste Levasseur
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levasseur, Auguste French people of the American Revolution 1820s in the United States History of the Dominican Republic History of Haiti History of Mexico 19th-century French people